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This is Day 8 of playing the 30-Day Minimalism Game. Counting in today’s items, I have donated 36 “things” from around my house and except for the very first item (a jacket), all the items have been from my kitchen. That’s right — my kitchen! And, I still have a lot of stuff in that room to donate/sell/trash!

When I first embarked upon this exercise, I had two thoughts about this game. One: would I be able to get rid of 496 items — it seemed like an impossibly large number. And two: I thought that it would be easy to part with all the stuff, whether or not I reached 496.

But each day, it becomes more apparent to me that I will probably be able to downsize by 496 things, however it isn’t all that easy to toss these items out of my life.

Sure, some things will not cause me even a moment’s hesitation — like the plastic cake carrier and the plastic dip & veggie dish or the footed glass bowl. But some things made me waver — the soup tureen, for instance, I love that tureen — we always served bouillabaisse in that. I hadn’t used it for so long — for years it had been sitting on top of the cupboards gathering dust. The matching ceramic serving spoon had long since been broken and now, the tureen itself had developed a crack that snaked halfway around the bowl — an accident waiting to happen. I couldn’t donate because the crack made using the dish impossible, so it has been designated for the trash (or recycling), but still I hesitated to put it on my list — trying to think of other ways that I could use the bowl. I thought about why I was contemplating keeping it, what was its intrinsic value, would I really find a way use this or would it sit up on the shelf for another 5 years.

In the end, I did put it on my list. With no regrets.

Playing this minimizing game, is going to help me think about my “things” — why am I hanging on to them, will my life be enhanced by keeping this stuff, what is really important to me? I also believe that these questions will help me keep my life de-cluttered.

Continuing on with the minimalism game on day eight: I said goodbye to: 1 wine decanter, another glass jar with a hinged lid, 2 terracotta flower pots, 1 vase, 2 glass containers, and 1 small wicker basket.